tofuwatch.com

Seattle-area heat wave continues, prompting thought of mapo tofu (really)

 

On a day when you want to find a cool body of water in which to dunk yourself comes one thought: Mapo tofu.

As in: Eating a healthy amount when Seattle-area temperatures are hitting well into the 90s. Seriously.

I know: Many people in the Seattle region are flocking to the nearby Puget Sound, lakes or rivers. 

But apparently, some believe (and I get the sense it’s people from Sichuan province) that the dish’s Sichuan peppercorn and chili peppers might actually cool you down.

Mind you, the two ingredients help make your brow perspire and numb your tongue. Which is great on a blustery, chilly night.

I note this mapo tofu-eating idea on a hot day after remembering the menu of one of my favorite Seattle-area restaurants, Old Sichuan in Kent, Wash.

It reads:

Local people attribute the development of their cuisine to the weather in (Sichuan). They say that chili and pepper-flavored food induces sweating, which cools them down in the hot summer.

I enjoy mapo bean curd but I might skip it this week.

On all of my trips to China, one observation that I still think about is watching many people sip hot tea on a sweltering day. I know traditional tea houses have nice, bamboo chairs – which let the air circulate through the back openings.

I also know that Western coffee and soda are served in China. The place is changing.

And I recognize that some older Chinese are amazed at people in the United States. We often like drinking cold beverages – even on a blustery, chilly night.

I’m actually staying close to a fan and ice water until the sun goes down.

In the evening, though, I plan to sit outside when it’s cooler – just like I did on sweltering days in Chinese cities, such as Beijing and Wuhan.

An ice-cold Qingdao beer (Tsingtao beer) might help, too, and bring back some memories. A chilled tofu and preserved duck egg dish or a cold, dry tofu salad also would be nice.

UPDATE: My neighbor, Rob, just returned from his office – by pedaling his bicycle for an hour in the heat.

I was going to raise this eating mapo tofu idea. But I figured it was best to hand him some ice-cold water.